Following the team with a unique perspective on all things Phillies.Email me: PhilliesPhollowers@comcast.net – Peace, Love & Baseball – Jenn

Halladay Drowns The Fish

Phillies fans were singing in the rain tonight as Roy Halladay drown the Marlins.Sprinkles fell throughout most of the game, but had no effect on Halladay’s performance.He went through 8 innings, allowing just 2 runs and striking out 4 batters.Halladay’s home debut was exactly what fans had looked forward to seeing, minus the rain, of course.

The Phillies offense had another spectacular game as well, scoring 8 runs on 12 hits and 5 walks.Every position player except Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez collect at least 1 RBI and everyone, except Ibanez, had at least one hit in the game.Even Halladay knocked a single.The big fish of the day however, turned out to be Juan Castro; he had 2 hits for 3 RBI while filling in for the injured Jimmy Rollins.

And of course, Chase Utley hit yet another home run, passing Albert Pujols for the most in the National League with 6.It was also Utley’s 4th game in a row with a homer.Clearly, Utley is in the zone, where we hope he will stay for a long time.

What looked like an easy win, turned into a near disaster in the 9th inning.With an 8-2 lead, rookie relief pitcher David Herndon allowed 4 runs on a bunch of ridiculously unlucky dribbling infield hits by the Marlins.Ryan Madson had to be brought in for the save.A huge sigh of relief overcame the fan as Madson got the last two outs and the Phils went home with an 8-6 win.Whew!Tomorrow, they will start Jamie Moyer, a notorious Fish killer, in the 7:05pm start.

Here is a quick injury update as well: JC Romero made a rehab start for the AAA Iron Pigs tonight and pitched a scoreless inning.He threw 17 pitches, 13 of which were strikes.He is inching closer each day to a return to Philly.This is very good news for a bullpen that appears to be struggling without him.

Starter Joe Blanton threw a bullpen session today and is scheduled to make a rehab appearance for single-A Lakewood on Tuesday.Kyle Kendrick will continue to fill in as a starter until Blanton returns, despite two very bad outings so far.

Brad Lidge is working towards his return, which looks like it may be at the end of the month.His pitch speed has improved, but he still has a lot of work to do.Cross your fingers… ;o)

3 Comments

Love Halladay. He’s keeping my fantasy team going! In the real world, he is the best in the league by far. Wow. I love seeing his highlights. I agree with you that you guys would be relieved to see Madsen getting it going. His ERA does not reflect his talent. I don’t know if Lidge’s return to the pen will help, but it can’t hurt.

I love how the moment J-Roll was showing some signs of injury and situations that come with playing your heart out every night some people worried about the Phillies.
But they forgot they have a secret weapon that they brought in from Canada named Roy Halladay that can turn any frown upside down.
Seriously, I am happy not to see him in the AL East 7 times a year, and the Braves, Marlins,Mets and Washington also feel the pain we had with him for eons.
Glad he is having success. Glad he is striking fear into hitters with his inside pitch and a breaking ball that buckles the knees.
But best of all, glad to see him doing it in another East division that is not in the American League.

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.